ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Annual Report

Alun Michael: The Defra 2004 Departmental Report, which contains information on progress against the Department's objectives, the challenges ahead and summary expenditure plans for 2003–04 to 2005–06, has been published today. Copies have been placed in the House Libraries.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Scottish Devolution Guidance Note

Christopher Leslie: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has made the following written ministerial statement in the other place today.
	"I am today publishing a protocol on Scottish legislative proposals giving devolved powers and functions to UK bodies. This has been agreed by the UK Government and the Scottish Executive. It will be published as one of our series of Devolution Guidance Notes and copies will be deposited in the libraries of both Houses and on the following website http://www.dca.gov.uk/."

HEALTH

Departmental Annual Report

Rosie Winterton: The Department's annual report for 2004, (Cm 6204), was laid before Parliament today.
	Copies have been placed in the Library.

Food Standards Agency

Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency's departmental report Spring 2004, Cm 6205 was laid before Parliament today.
	Copies will be placed in the Library.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Annual Report

Andrew Smith: I am today able to announce the publication of the Department for Work and Pensions Departmental report. The report provides details of the Department's performance in 2003–04 against its public service agreement targets and sets out the Department's expenditure plans for 2004–05 and 2005–06. Copies have been placed in the Library.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

International Development Association

Hilary Benn: In 2002, the UK agreed to contribute £900 million to the thirteenth replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional lending arm which is designed to meet the needs of the world's poorest countries. In addition to this contribution, the UK set aside another £100 million to be provided on condition that a satisfactory framework was agreed to compensate IDA for the costs of introducing grants under its thirteenth replenishment (IDA 13). Both the initial £900 million contribution and the additional provisional contribution of £100 million were approved by Parliament on 3 December 2002.
	I am pleased to announce that a satisfactory framework for compensating IDA 13 for the introduction of grants has now been agreed. Under this framework, donors will compensate IDA upfront for the administrative costs associated with providing grants, through making additional contributions to the next replenishment (IDA 14). (These are costs which arise early in the project cycle and, in the case of loans, would be covered by recipient countries.) Meanwhile, donors will compensate for the lost re-flows from recipient countries as and when these would have fallen due. Given the 10-year grace period provided under IDA on repayment of loans, this would not have happened until 2013 at the earliest. Compensation payments will not therefore be required until this time, and the exact means of compensation will be discussed as part of future IDA replenishments.
	An essential and fundamental principle of the agreed grants compensation framework is that donors should contribute to the cost of compensation in line with their share of IDA 13 (their 'burden share'). If the UK were to contribute the full £100 million set aside to cover the costs of upfront compensation, we would effectively displace the contributions of other donors. We have therefore decided to cover both our burden share under IDA 13, and the structural financing gap inherent in this replenishment (equivalent to 9.37 per cent. of total resource needs from donors), making a total UK contribution for upfront IDA 13 grants compensation of £64.8 million.

Departmental Annual Report

Hilary Benn: I am today laying before Parliament copies of the Department for International Development's departmental report 2004.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Harriet Harman: My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General has made the following Ministerial Statement:
	The Director of Public Prosecutions has, in accordance with section 7A Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 as amended by section 53 Crime and Disorder Act 1998, extended the remit of work that may be undertaken by Crown Prosecution Service designated caseworkers.
	Designated caseworkers are now permitted to undertake all work in the magistrates' court other than:
	Trials
	Proofs in absence in either-way cases
	Committals and sendings
	Pre-trial reviews
	Newton hearings
	Contested bail hearings
	The extended remit of designated caseworkers will enhance the role of the designated caseworker and enable more effective court listing. It will also support the effective delivery by the Crown Prosecution Service of pre-charge advice.
	A designated caseworker will not be permitted to undertake the extended remit until successfully completing a training programme and receiving a personal letter of appointment from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
	The following documents will be lodged in the Libraries of Parliament:
	The extended remit of Crown Prosecution Service designated caseworkers.
	The Governance scheme for Crown Prosecution Service designated caseworkers, which sets out the supervision arrangements.
	The statement of ethical principles for Crown Prosecution Service designated caseworkers.

DEFENCE

Individual Training and Education (Armed Forces)

Ivor Caplin: Our armed forces have an enviable reputation throughout the world for their professional delivery of operational military capability in a vast spectrum of roles. These range from war fighting to the complex and often subtle requirements of peace support operations and counter-terrorism; besides turning their hand, as they have done in recent years, to providing support to the civil community assisting with fire-fighting, flood-relief and the foot and mouth outbreak. Most who come across Service personnel acknowledge that they have sound essential military skills and operate within an ethos that differs from that generally found within the sphere of civilian employment. Yet those who join the services are not fundamentally different from the rest of society. What turns a young man or woman into a service person, capable of taking on successfully the variety of challenging roles which our country demands of them, is the training and education undertaken by servicemen and women throughout their careers.
	The Ministry of Defence is one of the largest providers of training and education to the 16 plus age group in the UK. The initial training delivered to new recruits is geared to provide them with the essential skills and knowledge to be capable of operating effectively in often unpredictable, violent, dangerous and stressful environments from the outset of their careers. MOD seeks to develop each individual to his or her maximum potential. Service personnel are given training and education to improve upon their latent ability; some who join may lack basic skills whilst others have graduate qualifications. The scope and scale of the training and education provision is considerable, and spans the whole length of a career in the forces. Not only does this help to recruit and retain people, but, equally importantly, when service personnel return to civilian employment, they take with them skills of value to society.
	I am therefore pleased to announce that today I have placed in the Library of the House a Policy Paper, entitled "Individual Training and Education in the Armed Forces". The paper provides information on MOD's wide spectrum of training and education and explains the skills agenda to which this operates. At its core lies the fundamental requirement to prepare servicemen and women to deliver operational capability. It includes insights into the key stages of initial training and the training environment, and highlights the MOD's determination to remain at the forefront of developing skills for the 21st Century.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Annual Report

Tessa Jowell: I am today arranging for my Department's annual report (Cm 6220) to be laid before Parliament in advance of publication on 30 April.
	Copies will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and the text made available on the Department's website at http://www.culture.gov.uk.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Immigration Rules

Des Browne: I have today laid before the House a statement of changes to the immigration rules. From 1 May 2004, as a result of the accession of 10 new states to the European Union, nationals of those EU accession states will not require immigration leave to enter or stay in the UK. Consequently it is necessary to remove all references to the individual EU accession states in the immigration rules with effect from the date of accession.
	We have also decided to amend the European economic area (EEA) national settlement requirements to enable those currently in immigration categories leading to settlement to aggregate time spent here under the immigration rules with that as an EEA national in the UK when making an application to settle. This ensures that new EU nationals will not have to spend a longer time in the UK to qualify for settlement than they would if accession had not occurred. This mirrors the practice followed in previous accessions.

Zahid Mubarek

David Blunkett: I am today announcing that, in line with the House of Lords judgment on 16 October 2003, I have established a public inquiry into the murder of Zahid Mubarek at Feltham Young Offender Institution in March 2000. The hon. Mr. Justice Keith will chair the inquiry; he will be assisted by three expert advisers who will provide advice and support to the inquiry on matters relating to race, prison operations and issues affecting prisoners. The inquiry will start immediately with the following terms of reference:
	"In the light of the House of Lords judgment in the case of Regina v. Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Amin, to investigate and report to the Home Secretary on the death of Zahid Mubarek, and the events leading up to the attack on him, and make recommendations about the prevention of such attacks in the future, taking into account the investigations that have already taken place—in particular, those by the Prison Service and the Commission for Racial Equality."
	A report of the inquiry, subject to matters of confidentiality, will be published.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Iran

Bill Rammell: The Government have issued an open licence for the export to Iran of goods that will be listed in the United Kingdom strategic export controls annual report as "Components for Military Aero Engines". The goods will be used by the oil and gas industry overhaul turbines that power pumps for oil and gas pipelines. The goods are military listed because they were originally designed and used for military aircraft engines. In this instance, the Government are satisfied that there is a minimal risk of diversion to a military end use, and are prepared to make an exception to the UK national arms embargo. Other aspects of the application were considered against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.

TRANSPORT

Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group

David Jamieson: I am pleased to announce the Secretary of State's targets for 2004–05 in respect of the Driver, Vehicle And Operator Group.
	The Secretary of State for Transport has set a range of high-level targets for the 2004–05 year on behalf of the Agencies within the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group; the Driving Standards Agency, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Vehicle Certification Agency and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. They are included in the Agencies' Business Plans. The plans also include a range of management targets, performance indicators and key tasks which are appropriate to the Agencies' businesses and which reflect the wider DVO change agenda. Copies of the Business Plans will be placed in the Library shortly.
	The key targets for the Driving Standards Agency are:
	
		
			 DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target 
		
		
			 Deliver core services effectively Deliver 6 week national average car practical test waiting time from January 2005. Maintain or improve levels of candidate satisfaction against the baseline of 90 per cent. 
			 E-enable core customer-facing services Introduce Advanced Speech Recognition for customers booking by telephone in August 2004. 
			 Deliver a One Stop Service Use Automatic Driving Licence Issue system to send pass results to DVLA to enable drivers to receive automatically updated licences from June 2004. 
			 Help improve road safety Deliver a national programme of 6,000 Arrive Alive presentations to 16–19 year olds. Deliver an interactive DVD to support learners to learn to drive safely by the end of March 2005. Improve the quality of trainers by effectively implementing the Approved Driving Instructors assessment programme. 
			 Deliver more efficient services Deliver Return on Capital Employed target of 3.5 per cent. over a five year period after offsetting the surplus in respect of 2003–04 and earlier years. 
		
	
	The key targets for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are:
	
		
			 DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target 
		
		
			 Deliver core services effectively Maintain or improve levels of customer satisfaction to 94 per cent. (2003 baseline 92 per cent.) Issue 98 per cent. of first driving licences within 8 working days Make 95 per cent. of vehicle registration (V5) changes within 12 working days. Maintain records that enable vehicle keepers to be successfully traced—target 75 per cent. of Harmonised Registration Certificates to be issued by March 2005. 
			 E-enable core customer-facing services Completion of Post Office barcoding (BART Phase 3) by August 2004 to enable automatic immediate update of DVLA licensing records. Commence national roll out of Electronic Vehicle Licensing phase 2 by March 2005. 
			 Deliver a One Stop Service First driver to receive replacement licence after passing their driving test, using the Automatic Driving Licensing Issue system by June 2004. 
			 Improve data accuracy First full Harmonised Registration Certificate issued on 1 July 2004. 
			 Help reduce driver and vehicle related crime and anti-social behaviour Reduce revenue loss arising from Vehicle Excise Duty evasion from 4.5 per cent. to 4 per cent. by end of March 2005. Successfully reduce the vehicle "inactive register" arising from Continuous Registration by 10 per cent. by end of March 2005. 
			 Deliver more efficient services Deliver Return on Capital Employed target of 3.5 per cent. Deliver 2.5 per cent. efficiency gain. 
		
	
	The key targets for the Vehicle Certification Agency are:
	
		
			 DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target 
		
		
			 Deliver core services effectively Have at least 98 per cent. of approved certificates issued error-free. 
			 Help improve road safety Have plans in place and on track to implement new approval procedures for buses by 2007 (working with VOSA). 
			 Deliver more efficient services Achieve at least break even for 2004–05. Complete the roll out of the integrated expense management system across the Agency and provide data to support better business development for 2005–06 Business Plan. 
		
	
	The key targets for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency are:
	
		
			 DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target 
		
		
			 Deliver core services effectively Improve licence application turnaround times by determining 85 per cent. of unopposed applications within 10 weeks from date of receipt of the application. Improve HGV and PSV test availability by offering a test appointment on or within 18 days of the requested date 95 per cent. of the time Maintain or improve levels of customer satisfaction against 2003 baselines (operators licensing 78 per cent., testing 73 per cent.; fitters and presenters—roadside checks 89 per cent., testing 92 per cent.; and MOT customers 93 per cent.) 
			 E-enable core customer-facing services Have a robust MOT computerisation system being rolled out nationally by March 2005. 
			 Deliver a One Stop Service Develop a commercial customer portal delivering access to operator self-service by May 2004, an e-payment facility by 31 March 2005 and development of self service test bookings for implementation by April 2006. 
			 Help improve road safety Contribute to the improved compliance of the lorry, bus and coach industries (operators and drivers) through effectively targeted compliance inspections, penalties and advice; as measured by Performance Gain points (2003 baseline of 8,295,459). 
			 Deliver more efficient services Contribute to the DVO Group 5 per cent. Value for Money target by delivering against an agreed VOSA Value for Money plan, achieving 2.5 per cent. efficiency and 2.5 per cent. effectiveness measures. 
			 Develop joined-up support services Agree design templates for our estate modernisation programme and have completed 30 per cent. of phase one by 31 March 2005.

Road Transport (Working Time) Directive

David Jamieson: On 21 October 2003, the Department for Transport launched a consultation exercise to consider the options for implementing the road transport (working time) directive—2002/15/EC (RTD) into UK legislation. This directive provides extra protection for drivers and crew of heavy goods and public service vehicles, who carry out road transport activities covered by the EU drivers' hours rules—regulation (EEC) 3820/85.
	This exercise has now finished. In the light of responses received the Government has decided that the UK regulations should:
	Implement the two derogations available under the RTD. This means that:
	The four month reference period for calculating the average 48-hour week can be extended to six months.
	night workers will be allowed to work more than 10 hours work for every 24-hour period.
	To take advantage of the derogations, there will need to be either a collective agreement, or a workforce agreement at company level between the employer and employees. In addition, drivers will still be subject to the limits under EU drivers' hours rules (regulation 3820/85/EEC)
	define "night time" as a period between 00.00–04.00 for drivers and crew of goods vehicles, but as 01.00–05.00 for drivers and crew of passenger vehicles.
	VOSA (DVTA—NI) will enforce the new regulations; primarily in response to complaints they receive. This approach will be reviewed before March 2009.
	Self-employed drivers will not be covered by UK regulations until March 2009.
	Workers who are only occasionally subject to the RTD will be covered by the requirements of the directive—in particular the 60 hour weekly limit, 10 hour limit (when doing night work) as well as the daily/weekly rest requirement and break requirements.
	The definitions under the RTD will be copied in to domestic law.
	Detailed guidance on the new legislation, including the definitions (notably, working time and periods of availability) and occasional drivers or mobile workers will be published in due course.
	In early June, the Department will consult on the draft text of the new regulations. The RTD will be implemented by 23 March 2005.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Parliamentary Boundaries

Paul Murphy: The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992, requires that the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland undertake periodical reviews of constituencies in Northern Ireland. The commission are required to submit a report to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland not less than eight or more than twelve years from their last report. The present review commenced on 16 May 2003.
	The commission are announcing their provisional recommendations for constituencies in Northern Ireland today. The proposals are to be made available for public inspection at district council headquarters and electoral offices, public libraries and at the offices of the Electoral Commission and the Boundary Commission to coincide with the formal publication of the provisional recommendations on 6 May. The commission are required to take into consideration any representations made within one month of publication of the proposals.
	I will, of course, report back to Parliament once the commission has made its final recommendations.